By Greg Sargent September 8
The group gathered around the table was made up of exactly the sort of voters that Donald Trump might have made inroads among — suburban white women, a mix of mostly “soft” Democrats and a few Republicans and independents. If Trump is going to close the gap with Hillary Clinton in certain key battlegrounds, he may have to win back at least a small slice of the voters in this category that he appears to have alienated, though there may be other paths for him.
But in a focus group organized by veteran Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg in a suburb of Philadelphia last night, a group of these voters appeared entirely closed off to reconsidering Trump, describing him and his public statements in the harshest of terms: Liar. Narcissist. Egotist. Racist.
However, the focus group — which I was permitted to observe — also offered some good news for Republicans who hope to hold the Senate, should Trump lose. Most if not all of the women — who were deliberately picked because they are “ticket splitters,” i.e. their presidential vote doesn’t necessarily determine their down-ballot choices — saw vulnerable incumbent Senator Pat Toomey as independent of Trump, and more broadly, thought of Trump as non-representative of Republicans in general.
Greenberg convened this focus group — on behalf of Women’s Voices Women Vote Action Fund — to gauge evolving attitudes toward Trump and Clinton among white suburban women who say they will vote for Clinton but are not committed partisan Democrats. The goal was also to determine whether evolving opposition to Trump is translating into a vote against Republicans down the ticket.
The stakes in the battle for these voters may be particularly high in Pennsylvania. The Trump campaign itself views this state as crucial to his most likely path to victory. Last spring, politicos in both parties began noting that Trump might put this blue-leaning state in play by making surprise inroads in counties outside Philadelphia. But the Los Angeles Times recently reported that polling showed suburban women around Philadelphia were gravitating toward Clinton, blunting Trump’s chances of pulling that off.
This dynamic was very much on display among the women I watched last night in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. None seemed like hardcore partisans. A few had not voted for Barack Obama in 2012. The education level was mixed (some had graduated college, others not) and they held jobs like administrator, medical technician, and events coordinator.
More:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2016/09/08/liar-narcissist-racist-these-suburban-women-really-really-dont-like-trump/?utm_term=.dee06fe3e413
